Why LSU coach Les Miles is so high on the ‘Big Cat’ drill

BATON ROUGE, La. — There are plenty of uncertainties in college football.

The Big Cat drill may ultimately be the exception.

LSU’s signature practice activity is one of the most renowned of its kind in all the nation.

Not only are Tigers fans and players usually excited to take in the drill, but LSU coach Les Miles is a huge fan of it, too, and for multiple reasons.

Miles shared some of the thought process behind the Big Cat drills and what kind of electricity it provides his team.

“You start with Big Cat, and it sets the tempo for the rest of practice,” Miles said on Thursday following LSU’s sixth spring practice session.

“You can scrimmage in the middle of practice and the rest of practice will be really good. If you go hard, then now you have some lower-tempo periods, I think it gives you a great opportunity to improve and take the intensity of the last drill into the next drill.”

In other words, the Big Cat drill is the tempo-setter.

LSU ran the infamous exercise twice on the second week of spring practices, and on Thursday pinned some of its star defenders against the top offensive weapons.